Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. ACH started by avoiding come of El Desperado’s dirty tactics, but Desperado took the fight to the outside and gained control. Back in the ring, Desperado maintained control for most of the match, going after ACH’s knee with strikes and submissions. This was a more methodical match for El Desperado with less cheap tricks than usual. The finish felt a little like it came out of nowhere, but it still worked.

Match Thoughts
Good match. It started with a little comedy (as usual with Taguchi) before Tiger Mask starting taking over. Tiger Mask applied a number of submission holds, but Taguchi endured and put on a few of his own.

Match Thoughts
Very good match. Kanemaru started the match by attacking KUSHIDA prior to the opening bell and taking the fight to the outside. He cheated as much as he possibly could, but KUSHIDA stayed in the fight. This match contained a lot of shenanigans such as the ref getting knocked out of commission for a while and Kanemaru’s buddies TAKA and Taichi helping, but even though not all of those spots were convincing, the majority of the action was very good. It built the excitement nicely to a satisfying finish both for this match and for the tournament as a whole.

Show Impressions
With the exception of KUSHIDA vs Kanemaru, I think the tournament matches tonight were fairly average. Still, it was a decent show.

Match of the NightYoshinobu Kanemaru vs KUSHIDA
Hands down the best match of the night. It built a nice story in the ring and felt like it was important for the tournament. KUSHIDA needed this win to realistically stay in the running.